After a much needed, and very relaxing, rest day we were ready to start our last full week of walking by heading down to Monmouth. Today we were joined by Gareth, Jackie, Chris T, Sasha, Chris M, Dal, Gemma and Simon – yes we would form two socially distanced groups as we walked. Darren will be our concierge for the next two days.

We left Leominster and headed south towards Hereford. Leominster (pronounced “lemster”) takes its name from the English word minster, meaning a community of clergy and the original Celtic name for the district Leon or Lene, probably in turn from an Old Welsh root lei to flow. During the 8th and 9th Century, Danes (or Vikings) frequently raided the area and a large amount of treasure was unearthed in 2015 that “experts” believe was buried by Vikings

The day started slightly misty with the sun looking like it would burn its way through quite soon. As we wandered towards Hereford we passed the 600 mile milestone and then a lovely dog decided that walking with us for a couple of km was much more interesting than going back to its owner. As we had reached a busy main road luckily we could reacquaint the dog with its, by now, frantic owner.

We found the HSBC branch in Hereford and posed for the obligatory photograph. The Welsh name for Hereford is Henffordd, meaning “old road”, and probably refers to the Roman road and Roman settlement at nearby Stretton Segway’s. An early town charter from 1189 granted by Richard I of England describes it as “Hereford in Wales”. Nell Gwynne, actress and mistress of King Charles II, is said to have been born in Hereford in 1650.

Blessed by beautiful weather and wide open countryside we kept on walking down (and definitely up) relatively quiet roads.

In Saint Weonards we passed the magical 1,000km walked and there was an opportune signpost for the photo.

The sun was setting as we entered wales – no Welcome to Wales sign though, just the Monmouth county sign. A long descent into the town of Monmouth meant it was completely dark by the time we reached the hotel. Nearly 60km of walking today meant for a very demanding day so huge thanks to all that joined us – the company and all the different chats makes such a difference. Tomorrow we do it all again with a different group of friends.

Today is a needed rest day. Yesterday we found the Leominster HSBC Branch to add the photo to our collection

Today we were joined by Daniel and Barney (who left his rucksack at home!) for our walk to Leominster.

Today was the last “shorter” day of the adventure (apart from the very last day) so we left Church Stretton after a more leisurely breakfast. Church Stretton was nicknamed Little Switzerland in the late Victorian and Edwardian period for its landscape and the way houses hugged the hills, and became a health resort. The local geology includes some of the oldest rocks in England and a notable fault is named after the town.

The next few hours were a lovely walk down quiet roads as we made our way towards Ludlow. A few steepish hills to walk up (and down) but nothing too strenuous – we even met a couple of lads on a tandem were riding up to John O’Groats.

We walked into Ludlow and our lunch break. Ludlow has nearly 500 listed buildings including examples of medieval and Tudor-style half-timbered buildings. The town was described by Sir John Betjeman as “probably the loveliest town in England”. The placename “Lodelowe” was in use for this site before 1138 and comes from the Old English “hlud-hlǣw”. At the time this section of the River Teme contained rapids, and so the hlud of Ludlow came from “the loud waters”, while hlǣw meant “hill” or tumulus – thus the name Ludlow describes a place on a hill by the loud waters.

As we continued our way to Leominster (pronounced Lemster) the sun continued to shine and we moved from Shropshire into Herefordshire.

Our route took us through Liston and some more lovely old houses – on the way up the hill out of town, Paul managed to flag down a passing Mr Whippy van – the ice creams were very welcome. Not too long after we arrived in Leominster.

This was a long week – we have walked for 7 days straight, covered nearly 210 miles (333 km) in a journey from Carlisle to Leominster. Thankfully tomorrow is a rest day and then we have a mega week before our final rest day.

Huge thanks to Daniel and Barney for their company and for taking the time out to join us on our walk.

And finally, thanks to Utilize_Plc for sponsoring todays leg.

Today David joined us for our walk to Church Stratton, while Toby and Will were still with us.

As usual for an upcoming 50+km day, we had an earlier start and left Whictchurch heading for Church Stretton. Whitchurch is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire, although there is evidence from various discovered artifacts that people lived in this area about 3,000 BC. Flakes of flint from the Neolithic era were found in nearby Dearnford Farm.

Shrewsbury was to be our lunch stop so we headed off down a “quiet” B-road that turned out to be not so quiet at all. Fairly flat farmlands were the main view of the day, and as usual the fields of cows were much more interested in us than we were in them.

We walked through the lovely town of Wem – the name of the town is derived from the Old English wamm, meaning a marsh, as marshy land exists in the area of the town. Over time, this was corrupted to form “Wem”. This area is believed to have been settled prior to the Roman Conquest of Britain, by the Cornovii – Celtic Iron Age settlers.

As we walked into Shrewsbury, we walked along our first sighting of the River Severn (longest river in Great Britain) – we will see it again next week as we cross back from Wales. Its later Welsh name Amwythig means “fortified place”. The town centre has a largely-unspoilt medieval street plan and over 660 listed buildings  including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries. Shrewsbury is the birthplace of Charles Darwin where he lived for 27 years.

Never ones to miss an opportunity, we passed the Shrewsbury HSBC Branch and stopped for a photo, the local team even joining in safely from behind their barrier.

Just as we left Shrewsbury we passed yet another milestone – 900 km walked so far. We then started our walk down the A49 – it was so busy that there was no opportunity for photographs – and we eventually arrived in Church Stretton safe and sound. We said goodbye to Toby and Will – huge thanks to them for joining us for a couple of days – it is much appreciated

Tomorrow we head for Leominster and a day off!

Today we were joined by Toby & Will, so together with Greg, Nick and Helena we were quite a crowd as we headed down the road to Whitchurch.

We left Warrington slightly earlier today as we had a 53km route ahead of us. Warrington was founded by the Romans at an important crossing place on the River Mersey. A new settlement was then established by the Saxons. By the Middle Ages, Warrington had emerged as a market town at the lowest bridging point of the river. The local tradition of textile and tool production dates from this time.

The local branch of HSBC was on our route so we took the opportunity for another photo of us in front of the branch.

We walked past the Warrington Wolves Halliwell Jones stadium (They are nicknamed the Wire after the wire-drawing industry in the town) and then crossed over the Mersey (forgot to take a photo) and the Manchester Ship Canal, of which Construction began in 1887, took six years and cost £15 million (equivalent to about £1.65 billion in 2011).

We walked over the Bridgewater Canal – which is described as the first great achievement of the canal age, although the Sankey Canal opened earlier. Bridgewater captured the public imagination because of its engineering feats; it required the construction of an aqueduct to cross the River Irwell, and a tunnel at Worsley. We then crossed the Acton Swing Bridge across the River Weaver.

An important milestone. – we both have now walked more then one million steps so far – with two weeks walking still to go.

A bit more walking past some nice houses and open countryside and then a nice setting in a pub garden for lunch (no beer unfortunately)

A long walk down the A49 (and dodging a good amount of traffic) in the lovely sunshine and then Greg was there in a layby with Teas and Coffees.

Another long stretch of the A49 (more to come tomorrow) and finally we reached the hotel – a long day indeed – 53.65km. We now say goodbye to Helena, Greg (outstanding chaperone) and Nick – we really do appreciate them taking time out to walk with us.

Today we were expecting the weather to be a bit kinder to us as we continued on towards Warrington. We were joined today by Greg, Helena and Nick – unfortunately Greg is injured so can’t walk but will instead be “looking after us”. Graeme had set an incredible bar last week so the pressure was on Greg.

We left Preston in the sunshine this morning and headed off towards Warrington.

On our way out of town, we spotted the Preston HSBC Branch so took the opportunity for a photo. The Angles (Germanic people who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period)  established Preston; its name is derived from the Old English meaning “priest’s settlement” and in the Doomsday Book is recorded as “Prestune”. In the Middle Ages, Preston was a parish and township in the hundred of Amounderness and was granted a Guild Merchant charter in 1179, giving it the status of a market town.

The first few kilometers were through the Avenham and Miller Parks – very tranquil in the early morning sunshine and a great way to start the day.

We walked past the Lostock Hall WWI war memorial and then it was time for an ice-cream break.

We walked through a couple of nice villages – Coppull and Standish – before heading through Wigan. The walk into Wigan itself was very nice – tree lined avenues – but then the walk out of Wigan and towards Warrington was very different – very urban and somewhat rundown in places.

Then the moment came – 500 miles walked so far.

The weather gods certainly smiled on us today – sunny and not too hot and then clouded over this afternoon. Certainly we were not as exhausted today as we were yesterday (still tired though). Tomorrow sees us cross Cheshire and head to Whitchurch inn Shropshire – it will be a long day.

After yesterday’s hard day in the heat we were rested and ready for more of the same as we head down to Preston.

We left Warton to head onto the A6 and the day’s trek to Preston. Warton is a village steeped in history; its earliest recording as a settlement is made in Doomsday Book written in 1086. It has connections to the first President of the United States, George Washington: Washington’s ancestor of seven generations, Lawrence Washington, is rumoured to have helped build the village church of St Oswald.  We stayed overnight in the George Washington Inn.

Our path took us through Cranforth (and past the old Carnforth Ironworks) and through the villages of Bolton-le-Sands and Slyne. We also got a glimpse of Morecambe Bay in the far distance.

We walked into, and through, Lancaster. Lancaster’s name was first recorded in the Doomsday Book in 1086 as Loncastre, where “Lon” refers to the River Lune , and “castre”, from the Old English cæster and Latin  castrum for “fort”, refers to the Roman fort which stood at the site. Lancaster gained its first charter  in 1193 as a market town and borough, but was not given city status until 1937. Many buildings in the city centre and along St. George’s Quay date from the 19th century, built as the port became one of the busiest in the UK and the fourth most important in the UK’s slave trade.

Not a lot of scenery worth taking the camera out for as we walked towards Garstang. Garstang is mentioned in the Doomsday Book as Cherestanc in 1086 and has a traditional market day on Thursdays that dates back to the early-1300s and stretches the length of street.  Later on we crossed a bridge on the River Wyre which was originally built in 1492, rebuilt in 1629, renewed about 1756 and widened in 1829 and 1929.

The heat was, by now, beginning to sap our energy – especially when the sun came out – 27c was a bit much. So what with the majority of the route now going through urban and semi-urban areas there was not much of interest to distract us – so the last 20km our so was a bit of a slog. Eventually we reached Preston and our hotel – Greg, Helena and Nick are here now and will be joining us for the next two days.

We now have less than 400 miles to go and only 13 days of walking left. Happy days!

Thank you to @iginsurance for kindly sponsoring today’s leg

After an excellent ham, leek and chicken pie for dinner and a good nights sleep we prepared to continue our journey onwards to Carnforth

We left Shap – a linear town – and headed towards Carnforth. Although Shap is geographically a small village, it is legally a market town with a charter dating from the 17th century. At one time the granite works (which are situated about a mile outside the village) was in itself a separate community. Shap polished pink granite can be found in many buildings in the UK, including outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

A long walk from Shap, along the A6 – onwards and upwards towards Shap summit. The summit is about 1350 feet (408m) above sea level and in a small lay by is a memorial ‘to the drivers and crew of vehicles that made possible the social and commercial links between north and south on the old and the difficult route over Shap Fell’. The scenery was stunning as we walked up to the summit and then down the other side. A pity that the electricity pylons are so evident (we walked close by one pylon and the buzzing / crackling was unreal).

The direct sunshine made it feel hotter than it was and consequently walking was harder as well. We eventually walked into Kendal and stopped in the shade by the river for our packed lunch. Kendal is a market town and is known today mainly as a centre for tourism, the home of Kendal mint cake, and a producer of pipe tobacco and snuff. Its grey limestone buildings have earned it the nickname “Auld Grey Town”, in common with Dunfermline, Scotland. Kendal is a beautiful town and looked stunning in the sunshine – but we couldn’t delay any longer and headed back onto the road.

We passed through Natland, and its lovely village church and then we achieved a momentous milestone – half way! So now we can start to countdown the miles and days to the finish.

Just before reaching our hotel, we passed through Yealand Conyers which it notable for its early support of Quakerism. Richard Hubberthorne, one of the early Quaker preachers was from the Yealands. George Fox preached a sermon in the village in 1652 and the village’s Meeting House dates from 1692. The Quaker’s Old School is today used as a simple hostel and can host people visiting ‘1652 country’.

Thanks again to Louis for being good company, and suffering with us, during the last two days. Exciting times now that we are more than half way through the adventure.

After a very nice rest day in Carlisle, we packed up (agin) and prepared to head down towards the Peak District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks

We left Carlisle – a cathedral city and the country town of Cumbria. The early history of Carlisle is marked by its status as a Roman settlement, established to serve the forts on Hadrians Wall. During theMiddle Ages, because of its proximity to the Kingdom of Scotland, Carlisle became an important military stronghold. Carlisle Castle, still relatively intact, was built in 1092 by William Rufus, and once served as a prison for Mary, Queen of Scots.

We were joined today (and for tomorrow) by Louis, we really appreciate him coming up and giving of his time to walk with us.

Today’s route was the A6 all the way to Shap, so after a nice walk through the south of Carlisle we hit the A6 and headed for Penrith and a lunch stop.

Nice rolling countryside and, contrary to the weather forecast, the sun came out and fought with the wind to be the prominent weather.

Coming to Penrith we came through Unthank (an interesting name) that had a population of 39 in 1870. We also passed our 400 mile milestone which means the halfway point is coming ever closer.

Penrith is a lovely market town and civil parish in the county of Cumbria. Penrith was granted a market charter in 1223 by Henry III. In 1854 the market rights were leased by the Board of Health until they were eventually bought outright in 1878 for £4140.

Walking out of Penrith, we passed Eamont Bridge – named after the bridge on the River Eamont and there is a henge nearby known as King Arthur’s Round Table. We then passed Clifton at which Clifton Moor was the site, in 1745, of the final battle in England (and the last battle ever on English soil) between Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Duke of Cumberland.

Finally we finished walking into Shap, the wind had strengthened and looked like rain was threatening but we thankfully escaped. Time for some rest before we do it all again tomorrow.

Today (Saturday) is a very welcome and much needed rest day. Next blog entry will be when we arrive in Shap on Sunday

HSBC Branch in Bank Street, Carlisle